Jess and Arie’s wedding suited them perfectly. Together they created a celebration that beautifully blended their impeccable style with important family values, and even included their treasured rescue dogs into the day’s celebrations with enviable ease and elegance.

Following a sweet first look complete with dogs in hand, we went to The Great Hall in the west end of downtown Toronto to take photographs in the light and airy spaces that both Jess and I fell in love with. A beautiful and emotional wedding ceremony was held at their neighbourhood family shul down the street, followed by an intimate backyard reception for their closest family and friends. The majority of the day allowed for the dogs who are such a big part of their lives to take part in the festivities, and an at-home reception kept things simple and allowed guests to comfortably move back and forth between the indoor and outdoor food and drink stations as it softly began to rain in the evening.

Their beautiful and personal style as a couple shone through in all the little details they thoughtfully added to the day. Jess sported her favourite relaxed moccasins along with a stunning beaded dress harking back to the 1920’s that complimented Arie’s stylish and classic dark navy blazer. The dogs were dressed up in simple green and white floral garlands, which matched the bride’s classic elegant bouquet of white flowers and flowing greenery. Jess absolutely transformed the interior of their shul by envisioning a beautiful minimalist Plexiglas chuppah, clear modernist chairs, and elegant candle displays that opened up the space while maintaining a cosy family feeling. I’m always a fan of intimate backyard receptions, and theirs was no exception. Edison lights criss-crossed the backyard, lighting and warming up the space outdoor space throughout the evening. Food stations offered a variety of dishes for family to enjoy standing around high tops or settled into the living room, and the cutting of the challah was fittingly held with family gathered close together together in the kitchen.

I absolutely loved getting to work with some of my favourite Toronto vendors again for this wedding. It’s always a treat to shoot at The Great Hall, and I’ll never tire of elegant bridal chignons styled by Amy at Bridal Hair Collective! All the other wonderful vendors I was introduced to at this wedding are listed below. I hope you enjoy!

This spring, a group of Toronto wedding vendors got together to create a bridal look book filled with wedding style inspiration and ideas for the upcoming wedding season. You saw a few of my photographs from the shoot on the blog a few weeks back, and now I'm here to add the beautiful video from the day created by Jessica from Charuk Studios, who was both our videographer and concept stylist for the day.

Hooked on that bright, airy, minimalist vibe, we of course chose The Great Hall as our wedding venue. With its' perfect high ceilings, wooden floors, white walls, and big windows, this venue is a photographers' dream! Jessica pulled together a variety of styles using different dresses and accessories from local designers and stores like Maureen Patricia Bridal, Ferre Sposa, the LuvyT Shop, and florist Mimi & Ry. Many of the dresses were beautiful shades of off-white, from a lovely dove grey wrap dress, to a soft blue tulle piece, to compliment the pastel colours of the spring wedding season, and to play with some more creative bridal looks. Our hair and makeup team UnoJo and Prerna & Co. did a fabulous job of creating several different and beautiful hair and makeup styles for our bridal looks. From soft wavy curls, to elegant up-do's, to beautiful waterfall braids, I had so much fun shooting such a variety of looks!

Take a look at Jessica's stunning video below, and checkout the rest of the photos from my blog post a few weeks ago if you missed it.

This fall I had the privilege of putting together some new styled shoots with my friend Amy from Bridal Hair Collective. We were working at The Great Hall, one of Toronto's stunning new venues this season. It has just been renovated and re-opened as a beautiful, classic old Queen St. West building, with an elegant and minimalist vibe inside the airy white rooms. It has tall windows and even taller ceilings, as well as a spectacular old stage theater complete with balconies and velvet drapes that filter in the most dreamy dramatic light. I had no idea what a treat I was about to experience my first time shooting here, and immediately hopped-to scheduling more time to shoot at this amazing venue with the most inspiring light and a fabulous team of talented Toronto vendors. This is the first part of 3 shoots from our work at The Great Hall, and I already can't wait to share the rest with you!

One of my absolute favorite elements of this shoot is the vintage jewellery provided to us by the lovely Lilliane from Lilliane's Fine Jewelery. Take a closer look at the beautiful vintage watch our bride is wearing. I absolutely loved the idea of using a watch as part of the bride's jewellery, especially when it's such a gorgeously delicate piece of silver! The contrast of a functional piece like this watch only serves to make the brides' look appear even more elegant. And the bonus? She doesn't have to worry if she's on time!

As always, my favorite part about working on styled shoots is the chance to connect with such a wonderful group of wedding creatives, who all believe in supporting each other, and working off everybody's talents and strengths to create a beautiful collaboration together. I could never capture beautiful styled shoots like this without the work of talented hair and makeup artists, florists, designers, and models. I feel so lucky to be part of such a skilled and supportive group of people to work with!